Source photo courtesy of Yonhap News
Russia’s defense minister has said that the objective of the military operation against Ukraine is to focus on the liberation of the Donbas region.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a videoconference on the 29th local time that the Ukrainian military’s power had greatly weakened, saying, “Overall, the main task of the first phase of the military operation has been completed.”
“This allows us to focus our efforts on the achievement of the main goal of the operation to liberate Donbas,” he added.
In the Donbas region, where there are many pro-Russian residents, the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic rebelled against the Ukrainian government and declared independence, and fierce fighting with government forces continues.
President Vladimir Putin, at the celebration of the eighth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea on the 18th, insisted that the invasion was to prevent a ‘genocide’ against Russians in the Donbas region.
In the midst of this, Minister Shoigu warned that “the leaders of certain NATO member countries are closely monitoring their intentions to provide aid to Ukraine, such as aircraft,” and warned that “if implemented, we will respond appropriately.”
It also claimed that in the past two weeks, about 600 foreign mercenaries who participated in the war on the Ukrainian side were killed and more than 500 had fled Ukraine.